Wind has become a prominent source of energy in the United States and around the world. A common system for harnessing wind energy includes a wind turbine mounted atop a vertical support. The systems may be installed on land or offshore and the construction of these common systems may become relatively expensive.
One expense relating to the construction of these systems includes a crane. Current systems are often constructed using a large crane. The crane is used to pick and set all, or portions, of the vertical support on a previously installed foundation. Once the vertical support is installed, the generator may be picked up by the crane and lifted to the top of the tower, placed on the tower, and secured.
The costs of maintaining a crane on site throughout construction may be very expensive. Moreover, the size of the wind turbine may often be limited by the lifting capacity of mobile cranes. In the case of offshore construction, the cost of keeping a crane onsite throughout the construction process may become exceedingly expensive.
One solution to minimizing or reducing crane usage is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,357,549 to Brennan et al. Here, a guide rail system is used to erect towers, to place equipment on towers, and for maintenance of towers. However, the use of a guide rail system may be cumbersome or problematic for several reasons. A portion of the rail needs to be included on each section of the tower. Also, the several portions of the rail need to be fitted and aligned during erection of the tower. Further, the guide rail may be thought to have poor aesthetics and difficulties may be associated with maintaining and painting the intricate rail.
There is a need in the art for an apparatus and method of installing wind energy generation systems where the reliance on an onsite crane is minimized or reduced and the problems associated with a guide rail system are also minimized or reduced.